Band-cutter and feeder for corn-huskers.



No: 849,075. PATENTED APR. 2, 1907.

F. J. MAIN & R. 0. WILDHAGEN.

BAND CUTTER AND FEEDER FOR CORN HUSKERS. APPLICATION FILED MAYB, 1905.RENEWED AUG. 14. 1906 A :32 SHEETS-SHEET 1. x F E 2% v: M q) z Q N agmvaulcow ECUZIAJMW attouww Q/Vihwoou ms NORRISYPETERS C0,, WASHINGTON,n, c.

PATENTED APR. 2, 1907. F. J. MAIN & R. 0. WILDHAGEN. BAND CUTTER ANDFEEDER FOR 001m HUSKERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, 1905. RENEWED AUG. 14, 1906.

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FRANK J. MAIN AND RUDOLPHE. WILDHAGEN, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN.

BAND-CUTTER AND FEEDER FOR CORN-HUSKERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 2, 1907.

Application filed May 8,1905. Renewed August 14, 1906. Serial No.330,586-

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FRANK J. MAIN and RUDOLPH C. IVILDHAGEN, citizensof the United States, residing at Madison, in the county of Dane andState of IVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Band-Cutters and Feeders for Corn- Huskers; and we do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved band-cutting and feeding appliancefor employment in connection with corn-husking machines, and has for itsobjects to dispense with the use of bridging devices at the throat ofthe husker for supporting the material in its traverse to thesnappingrolls by the provision of means operating to rapidly propel thematerial across said throat; to obtain a spread or separation of thematerial in a 1011- gitudinal as well as lateral direction, whereby thesnapping-rolls may operate in closer relation than hitherto and shellingand mutilation of the ears of corn by said rolls is greatly lessened; toovercome the tendency to congestion of the material at the throat; tominimize the liability to wear, disorder, and breakage, and, togetherwith the expenditure of less power, to increase the capacity both of thefeeding appliance and the husking-machine.

Other advantages possessed by the invention are set forth in thefollowing detailed description, in connection with which reference is tobe had to the accompanying drawings, illustrating the band-cutting andfeeding appliance in its preferred form of embodiment, it beingunderstood that various modifications may be made therein withoutexceeding the scope of the concluding claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a band-cutting and feedingappliance embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thesame.

Referring to the drawings'by numerals, 1 designates ahorizontallydisposed table, which may be in two foldable sections, asshown. An endless conveyer passes in its upper traverse over the tableto feed the ma terial toward the delivery end of the appliance and mayconsist of three sprocketchains 2 2 2, passing around sprocket-wheels 34, the wheel 3 being fixed on a driven shaft 5. Each of the chains carrymaterial-engaging pins or the like 6 6.

' In practice bundles of stalks are deposited singly on the table andare moved by the endless conveyer to and beneath a transverselydisposedroll 7, provided with sets of cutterblades 8 8, which operate to severthe bands binding the bundles. Between the sets of blades are ribs 9,which coact with the conveyer to move the material. The roll 7 is fixedon a shaft 10, journaled in suitable bearings on side frames, and saidroll is set sufficiently close to the table to obtain a flattening ofthe bundle and a lateral separation or spreading apart of the stalks.From the roll 7 the material passes to and beneath atransversely-disposed roll 1 1, fixed on a shaft 12 and equipped on itsperiphery with right and left spiral blades 13 14, operating to furtherspread or separate the stalks laterally. The spread stalks pass from thespreadingroll 13 to and between feed-rolls15 16 at the throat 1.7. Thesefeed-rolls, which may be longitudinally ribbed, as shown, are fixed,respectively, on shafts 18 19, connected by gearing 20. As willpresently more fully appear, the feed-rolls are revolved at a relativelyhigh speed to propel the stalks across the throat to the snapping-rolls21 of the huskingmachine, whereby-the employment of stalksupportingdevices or the like at said throat is unnecessary. The moving parts ofthe feeder are preferably driven by gear connection with a shaft on thehusking-machine. The drive-shaft 22, which has a relatively very highrotative speed, carries a gear 23 in mesh with a reducing-gear 24 on theshaft 25 of the upper snapping-roll. A shaft 26 adjacent to thesnapping-rolls carries two gears, one of which, 27, meshes with the gear24 and the other, 28, is in mesh with a relatively smaller gear 29 onthe shaft 19 of the lower feed-roll 16. The shaft 18 carries a pulley30, which is connected by belts 31 and 31 with relatively larger pulleys32 33, respectively carried by the shafts 12 10 of the rolls 13 7. Theshaft 10 carries a second pulley 34, which is connected by a cross-belt35 with apulley 36 on the sprocket-wheel shaft 5.

In operation a bundle of stalks is deposited on the table and is movedby the conveyor to and beneath the roll 7, where it is flattened and theband is severed by the blades 8. From the roll 7 the bundle passes toand beneath the roll 11, where it is further flattened and is laterallyspread or separated by the action of the spiral blades 13 14. The rolls7 11 have a peripheral speed in excess of that of the conveyer, and theupper stalks are moved relatively faster than the lower stalks, whichare engaged by the pins or the like on the conveyer-chains. In themovement of the bundle beneath the rolls 7 11, therefore, the stalksseparate both longitudinally and laterally, and by reason of thisstringing out the stalks in the bundle do not reach the feed-rolls atthe same time. The feed-rolls revolve at a high rate of speed ascompared with the speeds of the rolls 7 1 1 and conveyer, and the stalkswhich first reach the feed-rolls are drawn through very rapidly and thebundle is thus strung out very thinly and is proelled across the throatto the snapping-rolls.

11 other words, the corn comes into the feeder as a bundle carried on aslowly-moving conveyer and passes out between the feed-rolls at a highvelocity, having lost its identity as a bundle, and becomes a continuousstream of thinly-spread stalks.

One of the difliculties presented in devising an automatic feeder forcorn-huskers is to get the stalks across the throat to the snappingrollsand prevent them from dropping through the throat to the husking-rolls.Usually the throat is bridged by rods or the like, forming supports forthe stalks in their slow movement across the throat. Bridging devicesare, however, objectionable on account of the expense, but mainly forthe reason that they frequently cause bunching of the stalks andcongestion. The employment of high speed rolls dispenses with the necessity of using bridging devices at the throat. Consequently there is noliability to congesti on or clogging, and a further advantage possessedby the improved structure is that the snapping-rolls may be operated incloser relation than heretofore, with the result that less opportunityis presented for the ears to be drawn between the rolls. There istherefore much less shelling and mutilation of the ears, and as thesnapping-rolls are able to act on the stalks as fast as the latter comefrom the feed-rolls the husker may be constantly operated at its fullcapacity. Moreover, by reason of the stated condition of the mate rialin its passage through the feeder and the snapping-rolls there is lessliability of stoppage or clogging at any point, and as a consequenceless power is required for the operation and all liability to wear,disorder, and breakage both in the feeder and in the husker is reducedto the minimum.

We claim as our invention- 1. In an automatic feeder for cornhuskers,the combination of a table, feeding means ineluding an endless conveyer,a band-cutter, spreading means beyond the band-cutter, a pair offeed-rolls beyond the spreading means, and connections for driving thefeed-rolls at a speed to propel the stalks by momentum across the throatof the husker.

2. In an automatic feeder for corn-huskers, the combination of a table,feeding means including an endless conveyer, a band-cutter, aspreading-roll beyond the band-cutter having right and left spiralspreading-blades, a pair of feed-rolls beyond the spreading-roll, andconnections for driving the feed-rolls at a speed in excess of the speedof the other moving parts to propel the stalks by momentum across thethroat of the husker.

3. In an automatic feeder for corn-huskers, the combination of a table,feeding means including an endless conveyer, a band-cutter, aspreadingroll beyond the band-cutter, a pair of feed-rolls beyond thespreading-roll, connections for driving the spreading-roll at a speed inexcess of the speed of the conveyer, and connections for driving the.feed-rolls at a speed in excess of the speed of the spreading-roll topropel the stalks by momentum across the throat of the husker.

4. In an automatic feeder for cornhuskers, the combination of a table,feeding means including an endless conveyer, a band-cutting and feedroll, a spreading-roll beyond the first-named roll, a pair of feed-rollsbeyond the spreading-roll, connections for driving the band-cutting andfeed roll and the spread ing-roll at a speed in excess of the speed ofthe conveyer, and connections for driving the pair of feed-rolls at aspeed in excess of the speed of the band-cutting and feed roll and thespreading-roll to propel the stalks by momentum across the throat of thehusker.

5. In an automatic feeder for corn-huskers, the combination of a table,feeding means including an endless conveyer, a rotatable bandcutter, aspreading-roll beyond the firstnamed roll, a pair of feed-rolls beyondthe spreadingroll, connections for driving the band-cutting and feedroll and the spreading roll at a speed in excess of the speed of theconveyer, and connections for driving the pair of feed-rolls at a speedin excess of the speed of the band-cutting and feed roll and thespreading-roll to propel the stalks by momentum across the throat of thehusker.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

FRANK J. MAIN. RUDOLPH O. VVILDHAGEN.

Witnesses:

JOHN S. MAIN, FRANK W. LUoAs.

